This invention relates generally to pen-based computing systems, and more particularly to instructional or educational uses of pen-based computing systems. It is desirable to teach the writing and recognition of symbols for use in reading and writing language, mathematics, science, music, art, and other subjects. Symbols may include characters, diagrams, shapes, and other glyphs. Examples are Mandarin Chinese characters, shapes of states, molecular structures, and mathematical formulas. Teaching that is focused on learning to write and recognize symbols often requires rote practice of writing by observing and copying an exemplar (e.g., from a textbook). There is little direct feedback or encouragement to the student regarding his or her success in accurately re-creating the symbol. Teaching the student acceptable variances of a symbol is difficult and is typically achieved by providing the student with a set of acceptable alternate instances of the symbol.
In some instances, the proper sequencing of writing strokes for a symbol must also be learned. In these instances, communicating the stroke order via a printed diagram is clumsy and confusing. Again, the lack of feedback as the student practices writing the symbol with properly ordered strokes is inefficient and does not help motivate the student.
Typically, learning to write a symbol is decoupled in time or space from the context of learning the meaning or application of the symbol. For example, writing symbols in mathematical expressions involves Greek letters and many symbols unique to the field. The lack of immediate or meaningful feedback regarding symbol formation and syntax of expressions slows learning and requires more practice.
The locus of user visual focus is often quite large in typical learning systems. For instance, if a user is studying from a textbook or other printed material to learn to draw a symbol, the user must look at examples in the text, then shift visual focus to the piece of paper on which the user is writing. To check the correctness of the user's partially drawn symbol, the user must look back and forth between the paper and the text. This is inefficient and not optimal.
If the user is able to look very near the writing area to see the exemplar while drawing the symbol, the user can better retain the context of the exemplar. Consider the challenge in drawing a twenty stroke complex Mandarin character, looking back and forth between the character in a text book and the partially drawn character on the paper. In such a situation, many students will try to pull the text book as near as possible to the location where they are drawing the character. Further, once the character is fully drawn, it is still valuable to have the exemplar near the drawing to verify its correctness.
Consumable paper workbooks allow a user to write directly near an exemplar, narrowing the user's locus of focus, but a workbook is consumable and often expensive. A workbook also offers no dynamic or contextual feedback.
Tablet personal computers (tablet PCs) or similar systems are capable of presenting a user with an ongoing stream of information with changing, even dynamic, visuals. The system can provide contextual interpretation and immediate feedback in multiple modalities—aural or visual, and can provide a limited locus of visual focus. However, tablet PCs are expensive, bulky, consume substantial power, and may require frequent charging. Tablet PCs also offer unfamiliar and possibly undesirable tactile feedback to a user when writing on a glass screen. Further, for a tablet PC or any display device with protective transparent material, the issue of parallax exists when writing on a screen surface separated by a distance from the display, coupled with limited absolute resolution of many pen-tracking technologies for tablet PCs.
Accordingly, there is a need for techniques to more effectively teach the writing and recognition of symbols within the associated context of the symbols.